Zelenskiy says that his country is developing strong bilateral alliances with leaders of democratic world, including the United Kingdom, the USA, Canada, Japan, Australia all the EU members.

These alliances provide new power in defence, the economy and global prospects for democracy, he says.

He points out that political and economic stability in Ukraine benefits the whole globe, saying that at least 600m consumers around the world directly depend on Ukraine’s agricultural production.

Zelenskiy says that when the country underwent a blockage by Russia, the world was threatened by price rises and social collapse.

He says Ukraine has now partially restored movement of agriculture which is bringing stability and economic benefits around the world.

Zelenskiy thanks the nations that are supporting Ukraine and says that he hopes the conference will now come up with concrete projects. He says Ukraine has succeeded in uniting the European Union like never before, which is reflected in “many political economic sanction and humanitarian decisions”.

He adds:

Ukraine has activated all the power of solidarity for which the EU was configured.

The moral leadership in protecting peace “is only possible with Ukraine”, he says. Moving onto to Nato, he says:

We are already defending the common space of freedom in the alliance and are only waiting for the alliance leaders to recognise this [political’] reality.”

Zelenskiy says that growth and strong investments must be preceded by trust and the plan for Ukraine must be “preceded by confidence that that’s what has been rebuilt will not fall”. He argues that while no-one has the power to eradicate evil, it can be overcome. He states that the world is watching to see if normal life can be restored in Ukraine. If it is, that will be an “ideological blow” to the aggressor, he adds.

And it’s not about bricks, but about life in general. The world is abandoned with ruins reminding us of the wars of the past. And politics in different regions, unfortunately, is abandoned with sick ideas of hate, rage and resentment which point to possible wars in the future.

[…]

No one has the power to cleanse the depths of human nature from the evil that some sometimes rises to the surface and destroys and kills. But given time, and right now, we are able to protect lives and overcome their ruins.

[…]

The eyes of the world are looking at us and at whether we will defeat Russian aggression exactly as freedom deserves to win – that is without compromising our values.

Also the world is watching to see if we will restore normal life in such a way that our transformation will land an ideological defeat on the aggressor. We protect Ukraine and thus we protect freedom. And when we build Ukraine we will build freedom, country, region, continent, world. It’s a global task.

Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskiy is now addressing the conference,

He says:

Mr. Prime Minister, thank you for your kind words about Ukraine and our soldiers. And thanks for your leadership and the support the UK provides to Ukraine.

Thank you that we are really united in defending freedom.

Dear leaders of politics, business and public opinion. Dear presidents, prime ministers, ministers, heads of international organisations, and of course, dear journalists, when we are talking about recovery we are talking about millions of jobs, billions in corporate profits and GDP. And not only for Ukraine but for all our countries mine and yours. Countries that want, and will, live freely.

Sunak ends his address with a message of hope, telling the story of a Ukrainian soldier.

He says:

He was stationed in an empty house, not far from the frontline, surrounded by the destruction of war. When he could snatch a moment of free time, he used it to plant seeds.

He was trying to create a plot of vegetables, hoping that by the time the homeowners returned, they would have begun to grow. What a profound expression of hope.

And, you know, from that house to this hall, we’re doing the same thing. We’re planting the seeds of Ukraine’s future. Today, we can water them and in time the Ukrainian people will harvest them.

Sunak goes on to say the business, governments and financial institutions must partner to invest and shore up the country.

He says:

To make this happen. The British government will continue to play its full part. And I’m proud that today we’re announcing a multi year commitment to support Ukraine’s economy. Over three years, we will provide loan guarantees worth $3 billion we’re also launching a new UK Ukraine tech bridge to foster investment and talent, along with support for green energy and more all part of a vast collective effort from allies and partners around the world, including significant new support from the EU, which is also being announced this week.

Financial institutions are playing their part. The IMF is putting $15 billion into Ukraine over the next four years as part of a $115 billion commitment by the G7 and its partners and institutions like the EBRD providing seed capital to support private sector led growth.

Because above all, we must build a platform for business. Only they can truly crowd in the innovation and investment that Ukraine needs. And that’s why we’re launching the Ukraine business compact for the private sector to pledge their support for Ukraine’s recovery and reconstruction.

And I am delighted to announce today that over 400 businesses from 38 countries with a combined market cap of $4.9 trillion has now signed up the City of London has a huge amount to offer. And that deepened liquid capital markets and world class finance expertise.

So there is no better place to announce today the New London conference framework for war risk insurance. This is a huge step forward towards helping insurers to underwrite the investments into Ukraine, removing one of the biggest barriers and giving investors the confidence they need to act.

Sunak: ‘Russia must pay’

UK prime minister addresses Ukraine recovery conference

The Ukraine Recovery Conference has started in London this morning. The foreign secretary, James Cleverly, is addressing the conference.

He says:

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome. There are over 1,000 public and private sector decision-makers here. Governments representing 61 states, 33 international organisations, over 400 businesses and 130 civil society organisations. After nearly 18 months of Ukraine withstanding the Russian full scale invasion, the international community is coming together today with a shared belief and confidence in Ukraine’s future.

Russia’s full scale invasion has caused untold suffering, but Ukraine is rebuilding now. Recovery offers an opportunity not only to repair what was lost, but stride forward and to rebuild an economy that is more modern, more open, greener and more resilient. When I visited Kyiv recently, I could see the construction equipment from JCB already visible everywhere.

This you are see is about unlocking Ukraine’s potential, supporting Ukraine’s immediate recovery needs and unlocking a private sector led recovery. After the sacrifices and suffering of the war, Ukrainians are planning for a better future. And it is in the interests of the world, that the country they rebuild should be stronger than ever, integrated into global markets, and self reliant.

Ukrainian forces are reinforcing positions they have reached in areas of the southern front line after having “partial success” fighting Russian forces, a military spokesperson said today.

Reuters reports:

Ukrainian forces are conducting offensive operations in the direction of the Russian-occupied cities of Melitopol and Berdiansk in the Zaporizhzhia region, general staff spokesperson Andriy Kovalev said, listing names of southeastern villages.

“They had partial success in the directions of Novodanilivka – Robotyne, Mala Tokmachka – Verbove, Vilne Pole – Makarivka, they are consolidating at the achieved boundaries,” he was quoted as saying by the Ukraine military media centre.

Ukraine is also fighting to hold back an advance of Russian troops in the east, with “especially heavy fighting” taking place along near Lyman in the Donetsk region, he said.

Ukraine said on Monday it had recaptured eight villages in two weeks of counteroffensive operations in the occupied south but that the Kremlin’s forces were trying to regain the initiative in the east by stepping up attacks.

The UK Ministry of Defence has issued its update on the situation in Ukraine:

• Intense fighting continues in sectors of southern Ukraine. However, over recent weeks, Russia has continued to expend significant effort building defensive lines deep in rear areas, especially on the approaches to occupied Crimea.

• This includes an extensive zone of defences of 9 km in length, 3.5 km north of the town Armyansk, on the narrow bridge of land connecting Crimea to the Kherson region.

• These elaborate defences highlight the Russian command’s assessment that Ukrainian forces are capable of directly assaulting Crimea.

• Russia continues to see maintaining control of the peninsula as a top political priority.

Russia’s defence ministry said its forces thwarted a Ukrainian drone attack on the Moscow region, and that three drones had been shot down.

UK sets out package of financial support for Ukraine